A support element similar to the support element in question at present includes longitudinal rails, which are joined via bridge ribs, and is known for instance from German Published, Non-Examined Patent Application DE-OS 100 25 708. The production of such a support element is conventionally done such that after the spring rails and the bridge ribs have been straightened, these bridge ribs are welded to the spring rails. After that, the crude individual support elements thus formed are subjected to further method steps. These further method steps can be the elimination by means of a heat treatment of the strains that might be present in the crude support elements, and after that subjecting the crude support elements to a prescribed surface treatment, which can for instance comprise rust removal, zinc plating, painting, and so forth of the blanks. To that end, the support elements resting in shipping containers have to be taken out of the containers and each put in a predetermined treatment position and after that delivered to the appropriate equipment that performs the desired treatment. Such a method for producing support elements always requires intermediate steps that can be performed only by hand and are thus expensive.
In the production method according to the invention, the support elements are securely held by the retaining element in a matlike or gridlike combination, making for especially simple further treatment of the support elements in which no manual steps, such as disconnecting the support elements that are hooked together in the shipping containers and straightening them again before each further method step, are necessary any longer.
It is especially advantageous if, for stabilizing the combination, one construction-like retaining element is secured to each of the two spring rail portions of the pairs of spring rails.
A further simplification of the production method according to the invention for a support element, in which the transverse ribs span the spacing between spring rails that belong together in the manner of an arch or bridge, is obtained if the two bandlike retaining elements are provided with recesses, adapted to the spacings between the spring rail pairs that belong together, which extend in bridgelike fashion from one spring rail to the other in a pair.
In the combination, many support elements can be subjected to a heat treatment, for instance, in a simple way to eliminate stresses existing in the support elements. In the gridlike combination, rust removal of the combination, antirust treatment such as zinc plating, including coatings such as ZnAl, ZnNi, ZnFe, and/or painting of the support elements, is possible. Securing the half toward the wiper blade of a device for connecting the wiper blade to a wiper arm in the combination is also an attractive option, because without further effort all the support elements can be delivered in a clearly defined position to an assembly station responsible for that purpose.
Cutting the individual support elements from the combination is advantageously done along the outer longitudinal edges of its two spring rails. This reduces the trimming waste to a minimum. In the zinc-plated support element, the resultant small raw cut edges are likewise protected against corrosion by remote action.
To assure a prescribed distribution of the wiper strip contact pressure against the window to be wiped, the spring rails are provided in their longitudinal direction with a curvature, to whose outer side, facing away from the window, the bellylike retaining element is secured.
Further advantageous refinements and features of the invention are disclosed in the ensuing description of an exemplary embodiment shown in the associated drawing.